First Choice
by hope813
Summary: Finn and Rachel struggle to make an important choice. Plenty of love and humor. This is an angst-free zone!


**_Author's Note_****_: _**_**This is a follow-up to my one-shot fic, ****Another First ****,**** which can be found on this site. Each story may be enjoyed separately or read out-of order. Speaking of feedback, reviews keep me motivated. They are my only source of payment for these stories. Yes, I am shameless. Thanks for reading and reviewing!**_

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**First Choice**

"Finn?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you planning on moving anytime soon?" He heard the laughter behind her words and sent her a grin over his shoulder. "Probably not." He'd been standing next to his daughter's crib for...wow...forty-three minutes, just watching his little angel sleep.

"You know, all the books say that we should sleep when she sleeps," Rachel said, her voice muffled as she buried her face against his back and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I refuse to sleep until we decide." He heard Rachel groan. Turning slightly, he lassoed his arms around her and brought her to his side. He kissed the top of her head and buried his face in her hair. He breathed her in; she always smelled so fresh and clean like the air after a strong rainstorm, with just a hint of peach. He loved that, after ten years, she still used the same shampoo. "It's time. Actually, it's past time. She's a week old, Rachel. She needs a name."

"I know," Rachel released a heavy sigh. "It's just such a huge decision, Finn. We've gone through all the books, looked at hundreds of websites, and nothing seems right. We need something unique, but not ridiculous."

"So, I guess that 'Tree-Hugger' is out." She rolled her eyes at him. "I'm kidding! Just trying to lighten the mood."

Rachel gently caressed the newborn's head with a feather-light tough. "Maybe she's doomed to be 'Baby Girl Hudson' for the rest of her life."

"The sad part is that isn't even the worst name we've come up with," he chuckled, his chest shaking.

"Shhh, you'll wake her!" Rachel turned and placed her fingers over his mouth. His laughter stopped as quickly as it began. Just like that, every thought was on Rachel and the fact that she was touching him. It was ridiculous that this alone could still get him going. Rachel's eyes locked on his, her breathing coming out in shallow pants. He leaned down and took her lower lip in between his and sucked. Rachel reached up and, in their perfectly choreographed routine, he leaned down and wrapped his arms under her hips and lifted her up, holding her tightly against his chest.

"Ah..."

It took him a second to realize that it wasn't the good kind of moan he'd heard. Immediately, he carefully lowered her to the floor. "Rachel? Are you okay?"

"Sorry." She gave him an apologetic smile, but he saw the pain she was trying to cover up. "Still, you know, a little sore."

Damn it! What was the matter with him? Was he such a sex maniac that he couldn't keep away from his wife who'd just given birth? "I'm so sorry." He went to hug her but pulled back.

"Finn, you didn't do anything wrong. I promise." She pulled him into a tight embrace. "Don't you dare stop hugging me. I won't break."

Burying his face in her neck, he let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She reached up and pressed a light kiss against his collarbone. "I really miss sex."

A grin erupted. God, he loved how blunt she was. "Just sex or sex with me?" He leaned back and arched a brow at her.

"Seeing as I've only ever been with you, I can hardly answer that question objectively." She tilted her head and blinked up at him innocently.

"Hey, good luck finding another guy who could keep up with you," he tossed back smugly.

She smacked his chest. "Jerk." She snuggled back into his chest. "You should consider yourself very lucky. You don't know how good you've got it."

"Yes, I do," he answered, his voice suddenly rough with emotion. He cleared his throat. "Now, back to the matter at hand."

"The doctor said it will be at least five more weeks," Rachel bemoaned.

He snorted. Didn't she think about anything else? Maybe _he_ wasn't the sex maniac, after all. Not that he was complaining, of course. "I meant giving our child a name."

"Oh." Rachel stepped back, a sheepish grin on her face. "I just can't believe that not one of the names we came up was the one."

"I was sure that when we saw her, we'd just..._know_. Almost like the name would be born when she was." He shook his head. "Stupid, I know."

"No, no. I thought so, too. We'd see her for the first time and say: 'There, she is! Our little--" They both immediately dropped their gazes to their daughter, as if expecting the baby to miraculously open her eyes and just _tell them _already. "Finn, I have never been indecisive in my entire life!"

"Me, either."

She arched a brow at him. "Okay, fine," he replied, admitting defeat. "Tell me what it means."

"It means that I've always been able to make decisions. Why is this one so...impossible?"

"It's not. We're just, you know, over-thinking it," he started. Yes, that's it! He was on to something here. "Maybe we were right about knowing when we first saw her, but we were too focused on all the excitement to see it.

"So, we missed arguably one of the most important moments of our child's life?" she cried out. "Is this supposed to make me feel better, Finn?"

"No. Rachel, what is it you always tell me when I lose stuff?"

"To put things where they belong in the first place," she replied tartly.

He sighed. "The other thing."

"To retrace your steps?"

"Yes! Let's, like, retrace our steps and remember what we were feeling the moment she was born." His nodded like a bobble head doll, trying to get Rachel to see the sheer brilliance of his plan.

"It's worth a try. At this point, I'll do anything!"

"Not exactly the enthusiasm I was looking for, but okay. So, let's close our eyes and, you know, visualize it." She tilted her head at him. He shrugged. "Coach Tanaka always used to say to visualize our plays during football practice." Finn stooped over a bit and placed his fists on his hips in a passable imitation of his former coach. _'Visualize the ball, Finn,' _he began, adopting a gruff tone that sounded more like a half-hearted growl._ 'See yourself taking the other guy down and digging your cleats into his back_." He shook his head at the memory. "I think Coach kind of lost it those last couple of years."

"Setting aside that disturbing image and Coach Tanaka's possible break-down, let's give it a try." He saw her eyes flutter shut as she reached for his hand. His lips curved upward. They'd held hands during the delivery. Finn took her hand and closed his eyes.

"Okay, so..." Where to start? "Right. You've just let out your last hell-raising scream--"

"Hell-raising? I'd love to see you grin and bear it while giving birth!"

"Close your eyes," he murmured.

"How do you know--?"

"Just close them." He swallowed a chuckle at her resigned sigh. "So, you've just let out your last _delicate moan_ and the doctor says that it's a girl. We look at each other and grin like idiots," he laughed at the memory. "You looked so beautiful."

"I looked like I had spent two weeks in the trenches!"

Finn squeezed her hand. "You looked _beautiful_.

He heard her sniff. "And you...you've never looked so happy and proud. And really sexy, with your scruffy face. And then--"

"And then, we heard a slap and--"

"We heard her." Rachel chuckled. "It was the most amazing sound. It wasn't a really cry, though, was it?"

He was laughing now, too. "No! I swear, she came out singing. She is so like you, Rach. I knew right away that she'd be our little--"

Finn's eyes popped open and darted to Rachel, just in time to see her head swing around to meet his gaze.

"Star."

Rachel leaned over the crib, her eyes pooling. "That's who you are," she whispered.

Finn looked down at his little girl--at Star--and knew, without a doubt, that they'd finally gotten it right. Taking Rachel's hand, he brought it to his lips. "It's perfect. It's _her_."

"Maybe we'll actually get some sleep now!" She turned, starting to tug Finn toward the door. "Finn, we really should take advantage of the fact that she's sleeping. Believe me, we'll be getting little enough sleep as it is for the next year or so."

"I know, but--"

"Come with me. Maybe we can even, you know, fool around a bit before we collapse," she added with that sexy little grin he loved. "If we're careful, we can have at least a little fun. Besides, we have the monitor on if she needs us," Rachel added rationally.

"That's not it," he told her with a hesitant look.

"Well then?" Seeing his expression, Rachel reached up and stroked his face. "Finn?"

"We still need a middle name."

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**Author's Note # 2: Thanks so much to everyone that reviewed my last story and added me to their alert or favorite lists. I love the alerts, but the reviews--even short ones--mean so much to me!**


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